THE GREATEST RIB TEST EVER Goldfi sh 29 PRICE £202,650 TOP SPEED 57 knots 0-40 KNOTS 16.5 seconds
T
he mission statement of Goldfi sh is to build “the ultimate tool on the water”. It’s an oddly cold description for such an exquisite piece of design but it’s also very
apt. Everything about the 29 RIB Tender is focussed on delivering the best possible performance where it counts – out on the water. The fact that it also looks rather tasty, particularly in our test boat’s menacing SBS-style colour scheme, is a happy by-product of this form follows function philosophy. And boy does it function. Remarkably it uses the same
Yanmar diesel engine block as the slowest boat on test, the 38-knot Shearwater, yet the Goldfi sh proved to be one of the quickest, scudding along Southampton Water at 57 knots. Admittedly, the wick has been turned up from the standard engine’s 315hp to the D-Max’s 380hp but that still leaves it 220-280hp shy of the only other boats capable of matching its pace. It’s all down to that super-effi cient triple-stepped hull. It takes a bit of getting used to because
torque swept us forward like a surfboard on a tsunami
whistled and a great surge of
The turbo
both its performance and driving position are quite different to most of the other RIBs. The fl at trim angle combined with the low freeboard makes it feel like you are standing on it rather than in it. In fact when I fi rst put the hammer down round the back of the Island from Bembridge Ledge to St Catherine’s Point, I wondered what all the
fuss was about. Sure, the helm felt a bit special with its quasi-military appearance, hip-hugging patrol seats and separate race-style gear and throttle levers but its immediate get up and go seemed oddly pedestrian due to the turbo lag. Then the exhaust note hardened, the turbo whistled and a great surge of torque swept us forward like a surfboard on a tsunami. Even then it’s not the neck-snapping acceleration that hits you but its effortless ability to reel in the horizon. A bog standard Goldfi sh 29 won its class in the 2008 Round Britain Race and came seventh overall thanks to its relentless ability to eat up the miles and soak up the bumps without excessive fatigue to boat, driver or even your wallet! In car terms it feels like a
Porsche 911 – fast, agile, exquisitely engineered and beautifully built – a superboat that you can use everyday. However, like an old-school 911 it also demands respect.
Throw it into a full-lock turn at a reckless pace with the leg trimmed up and there’s a risk of losing the back end, power it too hard over a big following sea and you could stuff that slender vertical bow into the back of the next wave. Like any fast boat you have to learn how to use the last few tenths of its ability but the real beauty of the Goldfi sh is that even at eight tenths you can still run from Poole to the Solent in 40 minutes without even breaking sweat. The ultimate tool on the water? Too
modest, I prefer the ultimate weapon. Hugo AUGUST2013 53
Half raceboat, half military patrol boat and 100% fun
THE DATA SPECIFICATIONS
LENGTH 29ft 10in (9.10m) BEAM 8ft 10in (2.73m)
DRAUGHT 3ft 0in (0.92m)
WEIGHT 1.6 tonnes
FUEL CAPACITY 440 litres
ENGINES Single 380hp Yanmar D-Max diesel sterndrive
TOP SPEED ON TEST 57 knots
0-30 KNOTS 11.0 sec 0-40KNOTS 16.5 sec
PRICE FROM £188,200 inc VAT
PRICE AS TESTED £202,650 inc VAT
CONTACT Salterns Brokerage. Tel: +44 (0)1202 707222 Web: www.goldfi
shboat.com
Separate gear and throttle levers
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